KINGDOM HEARTS: Another Tale
by EPSIL0N
Summary: Spin-off sequel to KINGDOM HEARTS: A New Tale. The conflicts between Light and Darkness have finally been resolved. Now, instead of dealing with the Heartless, they now face challenges regarding friends, family, school and the perks of everyday life.
1. Anything Is Possible

_**DISCLAIMER: **_Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts II, _and related titles belong under the names of the Walt Disney Company and Square Enix. Names, places, items, concepts, and premade plots are their properties. I only own this original storyline and certain original characters and concepts for this particular piece._ _No copyright infringements are intended._

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><p>Copyright © 2011 by EPSIL0N<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter I:<strong>

Kimberly Possible can do anything. In her words, she claims she "can do anything." Or on a grander scale, her family goes by the saying, "Anything is possible for a Possible."

When the universal phenomena of home migrations began after the recent so-called "Dark Crisis" was officially over, Kim found herself—along with her family and various friends from her hometown—suddenly going to school on a tropical island. Not that she has any complaints. The small, comfortable region had everything a teen could want. There were beaches right outside modest little villages, which happen to line the borders of skyscraping metropolises. Movie theaters, malls, tranquil nature reserves, restaurants and sports venues dot the city areas.

Destiny Island High: the premiere public school located near the heart of the islands. Kim checked her watch. A quarter to eight. She had time to socialize a bit before heading off to class. The hallways were still fairly empty. Once the clock ticks to the final minutes before the first bell, intersections between hallways would reach maximum capacity.

Or so that was what she was told. It was the first day of classes; Kim's first day. The air conditioning actually made the hallway a little cold. Wearing the required school uniform, a sleeveless white and blue plaid miniskirt, Kim rubbed her exposed arms for quick heat. Deciding to unpack some of her belongings first, she matched the dials on her combination lock and popped the locker open.

"KP!" a voice called out.

A blonde male of average height skidded to a halt right in front of Kim's locker. Donning a plaid white shirt with rolled sleeves and a loose necktie hanging off the collar, he seemed nothing like a student in a premiere high school. Despite the less-than-impressive fashion sense and awkward demeanor, the young man offered a genuine smile of affection.

"Ron!" Kim cooed as she reached her arms out for an embrace. "I was hoping you'd show up soon."

"No problemo, KP, Mr. Ron Stoppable always shows up when needed," said Ron, hugging Kim in the process.

"Oh, good," said Kim. "Because I need your help setting up my locker."

"Aw, man. I was hoping we could do a little exploring first. Y'know, the whole new school, new peeps kinda deal!"

"Stick with me and maybe you won't come off as a loser, Ron," said Kim, a playful tone in her voice. She handed Ron some of her books.

"Of course! That's all part of the plan," grunted Ron, as Kim began piling books after books into his arms. "By showing off that I'm dating the Kim Possible! By default, that ups my status tenfold!"

Kim rolled her dense green eyes, but smiled coyly.

"T-minus five minutes until we have to get to our first class, Ron."

"Oof, that's the last of 'em," said Ron. "Hey, wait, I still need to get my books—"

"Ron! You didn't pick your books up at the office?"

"Well, hey, I thought they'd give us the books in class like other schools!"

"Ugh," Kim scoffed. "First class of the day. Advanced physics?"

Ron retrieved a sheet of paper from his back pocket.

"Er, yep."

"Then I'll share with you for today," said Kim. "Just today! That way you'll have to pick up your books."

"Don't worry, KP, I'll pick up the books after physics."

The bell was about to ring, prompting a horde of students to file through the halls and classrooms. Kim and Ron proceeded alongside each other, hand-in-hand. When passing other students, the majority of eyes were on Kim. Her voluminous red hair, near-perfect physique, fashion sense and friendly façade made her an instantly idolized figure. On the other hand, by having her fingers intertwined with the humble-looking Ron, questions marks sprouted all over the faces of students.

The classroom was very traditional. Four rows and six columns of student pedestal desks dotted the center of the room. The teacher's desk was tucked in the far right corner, near the windows. Just a few feet away from the teacher's desk was a large blackboard that stretched across the head of the classroom. On it were the words, "Welcome Seniors to Advanced Physics Class."

"Man, is this gonna be like biology class?" Ron asked as he flopped down behind a desk. "Those weird experiments always drove me nuts."

"There's a huge difference between bio and physics," said Kim, sitting down beside him. "More math's involved. But we probably learned most of this back in Middleton—"

"Sorry, but we do arranged seating here."

Kim and Ron simultaneously met the eyes of their bulky, gargantuan physics teacher. They glanced around the room. Most students who were entering did not sit. It appeared that seating arrangements were a tradition here. Some of the students who already sat down now gathered their belongings and joined the others in loitering near the classroom door.

"No big," Kim said reassuringly to Ron. She blew an air kiss to him as she rose from her seat. "Talk to you after class."

"Gah! Book, Kim!" Ron sputtered.

"Oh, hope you sit next to someone nice enough to share with you today," Kim said with a wince.

In due time, the seating arrangements were made. Much to Ron's delight, Kim sat right behind him. It was not enough to solve the book issue for him, though. To his left sat an average-looking girl with thin glasses and a short ponytail. To his right sat a spiky-haired boy of lean build and piercing blue eyes. Ron figured he ought to approach the boy instead of the girl, just in case Kim catches the wrong message.

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><p>Sora yawned as he idly watched the teacher sort out all the paperwork. If there was one place he wished to be in at the moment, it would simply be not in class. After spending the majority of the summer burying his entire being in textbooks and taking a multitude of standardized tests, Sora has already had enough of education.<p>

"Um, hey, excuse me?" the guy to his left started whispering.

At first, Sora did not know the words were addressed to him, so he simply yawned again and stared blankly toward the front of the room.

"Yo, spiky!"

"Huh?" said Sora, this time turning to face the student. "Are you talking to me?"

"Um, yeah—name's Ron," said the student, offering his hand. "Kinda new here."

"Oh, um, Sora's the name… not that spiky, by the way, the hair's actually pretty loose," Sora answered, accepting the handshake. "Are you from around here?"

"Nah, not really," said Ron. "Just moved here a month-ish ago. You?"

"Born here, grew up here," said Sora. "But I actually took some time off from school for a while because of… um, stuff. So I guess you can call me new, too?"

"Hmm, so are you supposed to be like, a super-senior or somethin'? If you took time off from school, I mean."

"Nope," said Sora. "My girlfriend forced me to study all summer. It was rough, but at least I caught back up to where I should be."

"Oh, wow, she sounds a lot like mine," said Ron.

"Your what?" asked Sora.

"My lovely girlfriend, of course," Ron said boastfully. "_The_ amazing Kim Possible. She's sittin' right behind me."

Sora looked to where Ron was directing and felt his jaw drop in surprise. Kim raised an eyebrow in curiosity when she heard Ron mention her name. The curiosity only increased when she caught Sora staring at her.

"Taken, stop the approach," Kim whispered sternly at Sora.

"It's all good, KP. This is Sora," said Ron. "He's a friend."

"'A friend?' Your friend?" Kim reiterated. She briefly checked her watch. "That must be record time for you."

"Heh, um, nice to meet ya," Sora chuckled.

"Now, Sora, just because we're friends doesn't mean you can hit on her," Ron whispered.

"What?" Sora sputtered. "I already have someone!"

"Oh, right," said Ron.

"Is she in this class?" Kim asked.

"Sure am, I can hear everything you guys are saying," declared a voice.

Kim and Ron turned to the girl who was sitting to Kim's right: another slender redhead with stunning physique, gorgeous facial features and sweet voice to go along with everything. She was not quite as tall as Kim—more petite in size—but there were noticeable similarities.

"Name's Kairi," she said with a smile. "I overheard the conversation. You're Ron, and you're Kim? You're both new in this area?"

"Yeah," said Kim. "We both moved here about a month ago. Oh, and it's nice to meet you."

"That'd be her," Sora said to Ron. "Uh. _The_ amazing Kairi."

Kairi shot Sora a critical, yet affectionate glare.

"Outta. Yo. League," Ron jested quietly.

"Like Kim isn't out of yours!" Sora countered.

"Oh, she definitely is," said Ron. "But Kairi, and you? Just sayin', mano y mano."

The school bell suddenly rang before Sora could launch another counterargument. One ring signaled the official start of the school year. The physics teacher—their homeroom teacher—patted down the paperwork on his desk, got up from his seat and approached the front of the class. Clamoring students momentarily silenced, much to the delight of the teacher. He was dark-skinned, visibly bald and clean-shaven, and dressed in a tight-fit black jacket over a white dress shirt and plain black tie. A pair of designer sunglasses was clipped over the breast pocket. Sora blinked several times. No matter how he analyzed, the muscular man looked more like a government secret agent than a high school physics teacher.

"Shoot!" Ron gasped. He turned to Sora. "Mind if you share the textbook with me for today? I didn't get mine yet."

Sora shrugged his shoulders and pointed toward his empty desk.

"Psst, Sora!" Kairi called from behind.

Sora peered over his shoulder. Kairi had the physics textbook in her hands.

"Lifesaver!" Ron whispered.

"Don't worry, Sora," said Kairi. "You boys can use mine. I'll share with Kim for now."

"Students!" the gruff voice of the teacher sounded.

Instantaneously, all the students completely silenced themselves. Indeed the teacher seemed more like a government figure. As he paced around the front of the room, occasionally stopping in front of a front-row student, his already massive frame seemed to grow with his level of authority.

"Welcome to twelfth grade physics," he continued. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Mr. Bubbles—"

"_Bubbles?_" Ron blurted out loud, a split second too late for his hands to catch up and block the words.

Sora could not help but let loose a laugh, though he quickly did his best to stifle it. Several other students chimed in with chuckles and giggles, only to face the deadly glare of Mr. Bubbles.

Examining the roster, Mr. Bubbles glared straight into the eyes of Ron, and then at Sora. The two boys sat nearly in the middle of the front row, putting them in a dangerous position, especially after displaying such questionable behavior on the first day of class.

"Ronald, am I correct?" asked Mr. Bubbles.

"Y-yes, sir," Ron stammered in fear.

"It says here that you are recently enrolled," added Mr. Bubbles. "Not a good way to make a first impression here."

He turned his attention to Sora, causing the boy to sink deep into the seat behind the desk.

"Sora, huh?" asked Mr. Bubbles. "Ah, the one all over the news, correct?"

"Er, uh, y-yeah!" said Sora. "Right. News."

"I don't care if you've saved the world or whatnot. Your job right now is to pass physics," said Mr. Bubbles, his back turned to the class. He shot Sora a stern look. "_Also_ not a good way to make a first impression here."

Sora and Ron simultaneously groaned, both planting their foreheads on the cold, ceramic desk. Behind them, Kairi and Kim exchanged looks and helplessly smiled in response to their significant others' problem with the teacher. The two girls already felt a positive, invisible bond with each other. Little do they know how much they have in common with each other. As Sora and Ron continued to mentally trudge their way through the rest of the class period, Kairi and Kim maintained their archetypal-good-student roles and began their high school junior year with incessant note-taking. As Mr. Bubbles rambled on about the year's curriculum and student expectations, Kairi felt her mind and heart ease, knowing that life as she knew it has finally returned to normal.

No more conflicts between Light and Darkness. No more Heartless to worry about. The turmoil lasted for nearly three years, but that has been done with, thanks to the work of Sora, Kairi, their best friend Riku, and a vast number of other warriors of light.

But that was then. And this is now.


	2. Interesting Things

**Chapter II:**

He packed the rest of his belongings in his backpack. He shut his locker door, waited for the click, and proceeded to hook his combination lock through.

"All set?" asked Kairi.

"All set," Sora confirmed.

The two of them were to meet Riku at Café Nautilus, one of the more popular coffee chains in the central region of Destiny Islands. Riku, a year older than Sora and Kairi, decided to cease school activities and take on the islands' enforcement duties instead. With a widely renowned history of combat and success, Riku was accepted as the youngest captain in the history of Destiny Islands' central division. Fortunately, the older boy still makes his home near Sora and Kairi, thus the trio continue to see each other on a constant basis. Sora always thought the death of Riku's father was the primary reason for Riku's decision to join law enforcement.

That, or Riku simply could not let go of his Keyblade.

Sora had to admit, though. On occasions, he still fiddled with his Keyblade, usually as a method of staying nimble and physically fit. However, he had to do it in secrecy. Over the summer, after the three of them returned to Destiny Islands—fresh from their victorious journey—they became celebrities. They were "The Saviors," or to Sora's dismay, anything with the titles synonymous to chosen ones or champions. As a result, it was Sora's idea to cease Keyblade and spell-casting activities in order to reduce unnecessary attention. However, with the dangerous scenarios that arise in Riku's taxing job, sometimes the Keyblade had to be summoned. On sight, criminals usually fled and civilians cheered. As Riku's subordinates pin down the suspects in question, nearby cheers tend to morph into the aforementioned unnecessary attention.

"Why not just go with the traditional police equipment?" Sora once suggested to Riku.

"I dunno," said Riku. "It just doesn't feel right for me."

And Sora simply told Riku to do whatever suited him. And what suited him was the continual use of the Keyblade. Perhaps magic, too. Riku was sometimes literally a one-man squad. With an arsenal of elemental spells, along with supporting spells like Cure and Protect, plus a conglomeration of barrier, gravity, dark and light magic; and on top of everything else, the ability to summon eidolons to aid on the battlefield, Riku rarely ever needed assistance. Situations that required assistance were oftentimes comical, for instance, crowd control when civilians grow too excited over Riku's flashy techniques.

It was the mid-afternoon lunch break that Riku always took. Even before classes started for the high school students, Riku had already adjusted to his routine. By the time Sora and Kairi walked through the main entrance, the older boy was halfway through the home-style burger that was sprawled before him.

"You couldn't wait a few more minutes, Riku?" Kairi asked playfully as she and Sora sat themselves across from Riku. "How's your day going so far?"

"Somewhat uneventful," said Riku. He dabbed his mouth with his napkin. "I think more interesting things happened while I was waiting for you two in the past half hour than this whole morning and afternoon combined."

"Such as?" Sora asked as he flipped the menu open.

"Let's see…" Riku started quietly. He mumbled to himself as he counted silently, raising some of his fingers one after another.

As Riku collected his thoughts, a barista stopped at the table to take Sora and Kairi's orders.

"Welcome to Café Nautilus!" she said in the chip voice. "What can I get you two?"

"Right!" Riku suddenly interrupted, surprising Sora and Kairi, as well as the barista.

"Um, yeah," said Sora. "I'll just have a tall banana milkshake. And—"

"I'll have the same…" Kairi added. She focused her eyes on the barista's nametag. "Um, Kishi?"

"Coming right up!" said Kishi, disregarding Riku's interruption.

As Kishi gathered the menus and left the table, Sora and Kairi simultaneously directed their eyes on Riku, who returned to staring at his fingers. The uncharacteristic behaviors coming from this normally calm, collected and publicly enigmatic figure were instantly noticeable for the two people who have spent the most time with him. Sora and Kairi, both smirking contentedly, exchanged looks and stared right at Riku, who quickly averted his eyes.

"So the 'more interesting things' mean just _one_ interesting _lady_, right?" Kairi hummed. She rested her hands beneath her chin and tilted her head; the actions drew sweat from Riku's forehead. "Am I _right,_ Mr. Cool?"

"I've never seen her before," Sora added, not quite as teasingly as Kairi. "Is she new around here?"

"Beats me," muttered Riku, who stalwartly crossed his arms. "Never seen her before either."

"Never answered my question either," Kairi cut back in. "So? Am I right? You were eyeing that girl this whole time, right? _Right?_"

"Okay!" Riku gasped. "Yes!"

"See, I was right," Kairi snickered to Sora.

"Yeah, Kairi was talking to me before about you and your recent—what did you say it was, Kairi? Oh, yeah, your 'girl hunt,' or something like that," said Sora. He looked over to the main counter further off where a couple of clerks and baristas, including Kishi, were working. "I guess that one's your current… target?"

Riku groaned in agony and stuffed the rest of his burger into his gaping mouth.

"No need to hide it from us!" Sora added, pulling Kairi to his side. "We pretty much know everything about you anyway!"

"Ha," Riku chuckled, picking the scraps out of his teeth with a small fork. "You're right about that."

"How much time do you have left before you have to go back on your shift?" asked Kairi.

"I've got a few minutes. I've assigned a few guys to patrol my usual routes, but they'll be done by the time I am," said Riku. He examined Kairi's expression. "You're up to no good. I can tell."

"Oh, you know how I think, Riku," Kairi answered slyly. She shifted her attention to Sora.

"Whatever it is, not happening," Sora stated almost instantaneously.

"Aw, c'mon, Sora! Only for a few minutes…"

"What a shame, look at the time," Riku gallantly announced. He took a few sips from his glass of water and wiped his mouth one last time. "Looks like I have to go back to work. See you all later tonight."

"Come on, Riku!" Kairi whined, stretching an arm out to prevent Riku from leaving. "You still have some time left—"

"Hmm, another day, maybe!" Riku said calmly, waving goodbye to his two best friends as he made his way out of the café.

The door shut with the sounds of wind chimes singing in its wake. For some reason, the café seemed to have grown a little more peaceful after Riku departed.

"And I was gonna ask you to wingman for him, too," Kairi mumbled, pouting as she flopped back into her seat next to Sora.

"Really?" Sora gasped sarcastically. He paused for dramatic effect as he gazed into Kairi's eyes. "Yep. Not happening."

Kairi scowled and waited as a barista—not Kishi—stopped by to deliver the two milkshakes. It was the usual order. A milkshake blended with real bananas with a hint of vanilla extract. Kairi retrieved a book from her bag while she slowly sipped on her drink. It was the perfect environment to relax and get a head start on her readings. People chatted quietly in the background, doors sporadically opened and closed from entering and departing customers, the wind chimes by the entrance continuously hummed its soothing melodies.

While Kairi began skimming through her general English literature textbook, Sora began zoning out as he watched people come and go by their table. A small group of teens went by and got in line to order. Sora recognized a couple of them, but he did not know their names. They were probably underclassmen he happened to pass in between classes. Sora shifted his attention to Kairi, who was engrossed in her readings; then to the counter, where Kishi was busy tossing various ingredients into an electronic blender; then to the door, which coincidentally opened up as two new customers made their way in.

Sora recognized them.

"I don't think this place sells any nachos, Ron."

"Aw, man, you're right! All they have here are milk and cookies!" Ron started shouting belligerently. He stopped for a moment as his eyes caught sight of Sora. "Hey, look, it's Sora and Kairi!"

The shouting snapped Kairi out of her trance and both she and Sora turned to face Kim and Ron.

"Hey, you two, come sit with us!" Kairi offered immediately.

Both Kim and Ron were already changed out of their school uniforms. Kim featured a tight-fitted purple shirt and black bell-bottom jeans while Ron donned a baggy pair of cargo pants and a red sports jersey over a plain black shirt. Sora and Kairi glanced at each other. They were still in their uniforms. The moment the two of them sat down, Kim leaned in.

"I'm curious—" she began.

"About the whole 'all over the news' and 'saving the world or whatnot?'" Kairi asked, anticipating Kim's question. "Yeah, we get that a lot."

"Oh, wow," said Kim. "So is that like a regular thing for you guys?"

"Mostly Sora, I help out time to time," Kairi answered proudly.

_Hey, now, that's too much attention on me,_ Sora wanted to say.

"Ooh, that's a lot like Kim and me," said Ron. "Except she does most of the work and I help out once in a while. Y'know, when it counts—"

"Saving the world?" asked Kairi.

"Yep, KP and me, teen heroes to beat."

_Ah-ha, that explains why Ron kept calling her _the_ Kim Possible,_ Sora thought to himself.

"But that was back in where we're from," Kim clarified. "It got pretty messy there. Recently it got a little better... and I think it happened to be right before we moved here."

"Yeah, everything's all done with," said Sora, leaning comfortably back into his seat. "It's pretty peaceful here nowadays."

"And you two had something to do with that," Kim said sweetly.

Sora wondered. Was Kim talking about the forces of darkness that plagued her home world?

"So you and Ron were out protecting your home world the whole time?" asked Kairi.

"Bingo!" declared Ron.

"Question: in your home world back then, did you guys keep getting attacked by creepy black creatures that popped out of random places?" Sora asked.

Kim pressed down on her watch a couple of times, with light beeps subsequently following. She held her wrist out and, in a display of technological advancement, a hologram of a sinister-looking creature floated above their table.

"A Heartless," all four of them said simultaneously.

"Wait—"

"…Uh."

"How'd you know?" asked Sora.

"I was gonna ask the _same_ thing!" said Ron.

"It's the whole save the world thing," Kairi pointed out.

"Same sitch here," said Kim. She turned off the hologram and rested her hands on her lap. "Gotta have the intel if we want to, you know, save the world."

"Sora usually improvises," said Kairi, smiling at Sora, who shrugged helplessly.

"But they're all gone now, right?" Sora asked. "That's why you guys moved here?"

"They're gone all right," said Kim. "But we moved here after my dad got a request to jump start a space program here. We did have to do some traveling similar to space travel just to get here."

"Oh, we know," Kairi said quietly to herself. She handed a couple of menus to Kim and Ron. "First time here? You should try some of their shakes. They're pretty amazing."

The quick change of topics was relieving for Sora. The fact that both Kim and Ron were familiar with the whole Light versus Darkness concept was surprising as well as flustering. Not that the two newcomers were in any way threatening or troublesome; the vibe that was given off suggested that there was more to them than what meets the eye. However, Sora simply did not want to know just yet. The new knowledge was enough for him for now.

Eventually, Kim decided on an organic strawberry-kiwi combination smoothie, while Ron settled on pineapple and coconut blended slushie.

"Figure I should go for the tropical stuff while I'm here before I get too used to it," he explained.

They talked about their first day of classes, which teachers they shared, who they found interesting in their classes, and so forth. Kairi led the conversation since she had been enrolled in Destiny Island High the longest. Kim quickly said she favored the calculus class over the others, a comment that promptly triggered an exaggerated gag response from Ron. Ron, conversely, preferred not a single class. Sora almost agreed with Ron, that no classes were interesting—_yet._ He admitted that he was looking forward to physical education classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. From this point, Kairi decided to introduce the subject of extracurricular activities.

"If they have a cheerleading squad here, I am so in," Kim declared.

"You're in luck, Kim," said Kairi. "We have one of the best squads out of all the neighboring islands."

"Kim was the captain of the cheerleading squad back in our old school," Ron whispered to Sora.

"I wouldn't be surprised. She looks like the type," Sora started. "But according to Kairi, the current captain here is a complete—"

"Ooh, captain? If you try out, that gives me more of a reason to do so, too!" Kairi said gleefully.

"It's a deal," said Kim, clasping Kairi's hands.

"Leading the way, _Captain?_"

"The moment they open up try-outs, we're going in."

"And what does that leave us?" asked Ron. "What're we gonna do… mascots for the school football team?"

"We don't have… football," Kairi said slowly. "But we _do_ have—"

"Blitzball!" Sora shouted. The sudden commotion turned a few heads around the café, much to Sora's embarrassment.

Kairi giggled and patted Sora's back, motioning for him to relax. Kim and Ron exchanged confused looks.

"I know in some places, they play soccer, rugby and water polo," Kairi explained. "If you're familiar with those sports, then Blitzball shouldn't be too hard to get."

"Sounds like Kim's type of game, not mine!" said Ron.

"C'mon, Ron," said Kim. "Kairi and I will try out for cheerleading. Why don't you join Sora for Blitzball—I'm assuming you're going to join the Blitzball team, right, Sora?"

"You're lookin' at the master here," Sora gloated, posing and flexing his arms. "I'm not on the team only because I haven't been in school for the last couple years."

"Aw, you're funny, Sora," Kairi groaned. "You only became good because that's all you did this summer other than studying! Plus, Tidus and Wakka are still way more skilled right now."

"Tidus and Wakka? Are they in our school?" asked Kim.

"Wakka was the captain of our school's Blitzball team, but he graduated last year," said Kairi. "Tidus is most likely going to take over as the captain. And he should! He's awfully good."

"But, hey, I'm on a similar level. We're pretty close if you ask me…" Sora continued to justify himself.

Kairi pinched Sora's cheek and smiled piteously at her boyfriend.

"You know he's one of the top fielders we have," said Kairi. "Don't get me wrong, I think you're amazing. You and Tidus combined will probably help win most of the team's games!"

"And that leaves Ron…" said Sora.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey!" Ron began sputtering. "Hey! Never said I was gonna join!"

"Cheerleader-jock combo," Kairi taunted. "It's the biggest attention-grabber in school."

_Don't we get enough attention already?_ Sora wanted to point out. He held back, seeing that Kairi appeared to be enjoying herself with the subject.

"Oh, please," Kim scoffed. "It's okay, Ron, you don't have to be a jock just to be with me."

"But you _can_ be with Kim _and_ be a jock!" Sora decided to say. "You got nothin' to lose."

"Except my health, dignity and spirit!" Ron argued helplessly.

"All for Ron to try out for the Blitzball team with me, say 'aye!'" Sora declared.

"Aye!" both Sora and Kairi cheered simultaneously.

"N-nay! Nay nay!" Ron babbled. He leaned over to Kim and begged in futility. "Save me, KP!"

"Sorry, Ron, I'm neutral on this! Plus, this will be good for you!" she said as reassuringly as possible. "Now that we're not out fighting crime on a constant basis—I hope."

Ron smacked his head on the table and created a fake sobbing noise. Regardless, he appeared to have conceded. While the four of them finished their drinks, it was confirmed that on first notice—other than Ron—they will try out for their respective clubs.

"But before we actually go for the real thing," Sora said to Ron. "I wanna see what kinda skills you have."

"Ditto for us," Kim said to Kairi. "I wanna see what you can do, too."

"First thing tomorrow after school?" Kairi suggested. "The gym should be open. I doubt they're holding try-outs for anything this early."

"Sounds good," said Kim. "Ron?"

"Hey, don't look at me, I'm not tryin' out for cheerleading," Ron mumbled.

Sora, Kairi and Kim glanced at each other. Kim shrugged, chuckled uneasily, and placed her hands around her ill-at-ease Ron.

"Blitzball, dear," she whispered comfortingly.

Ron, completely powerless, groaned helplessly, finally openly agreeing to the plans. As the new friends shared another round of rowdy laughs, excitement and anticipation seemed to filling up the coming days.


	3. Daily Occurrences

_Well, how long has it been? First of all, I have been M.I.A. simply because I've been working on more real life stuff. But now that I find myself free Monday through Wednesday_, _I've decided to turn back to writing as a hobby. Even though I believe "Kingdom Hearts" is not in the same hyped-up environment as it was five plus years ago, I will do my best to continue exploring this world. Heck, Disney's still awesome at least. Here we go, a return to a once-abandoned work. Here's a quick chapter to get back into things._

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><p><strong>Chapter III:<strong>

Despite the days neared the onset of autumn, the weather was still warm enough for people to walk comfortably in thin shirts, shorts and sandals. Sora made his way through the screen door and kicked off his shoes. Home sweet home. He had a long day. It had been years since he had last gone to school; the fluttery feeling from the first day of classes was almost new to him. Returning home from classes was yet another feeling he had almost forgotten. The smell of fresh dinner in progress caught Sora's attention. His mother was in the kitchen doing the preparatory work.

"I was hoping you'd be back by dinnertime," his mother said over the sounds of running water. "How did your first day go?"

"Just like years ago," said Sora as he unpacked his belongings in the living room. "So, pretty normal."

"Are you and Kairi in the same class?"

The cheerful, yet teasing tone tickled Sora's ears. The teen sputtered and poked his head into the kitchen.

"…Yes, we are, mom," Sora droned. "Just as you predicted."

"Well, aren't you two cute?"

_Figured that's the case_, Sora thought, anticipating such a remark.

Leaving his mother to her motherly tasks, Sora turned on the living room television—with local news automatically tuned in—adjusted the master volume to a reasonable level and proceeded to head up to his room.

"Sora, don't leave the TV on if you're not going to watch anything!" his mother called out in vain.

"…_Local folks gave their input today, joking that the recently promoted captain of the police force virtually renders all enforcement officials obsolete…_"

Sora's room was on the second floor, but most of the residential home designs on Destiny Islands—especially those in the central and southern regions—kept both floors relatively close. The short staircase that links the floors consists of only a few steps each way. Thus, Sora could easily listen in on television broadcasts from his bedroom, as long as his door remained open.

The reporters were talking about Riku again. Apparently, crimes in the central region—not to mention throughout the majority of the islands—were reduced to an all-time low since Riku took charge. Sora could tell that the news anchor was slightly bored. Most news stories were generated from shocking or tragic events. Nowadays, the stories were all but tragic. They could be shocking, but surely not tragic. Even then, the shocking stories eventually grew to be daily occurrences.

"..._Rampant creature later identified by officials to be a variant of Malboros was tranquilized by the captain. Officials claimed it was all thanks to a potent sleep-based magic spell. No one, including the creature, was hurt in the incident_…"

Even a small event like a wild animal breaking out of its natural habitat and charging into populated villages made the top headlines. Sora happily sat down in front of his new computer, knowing that nothing out of the ordinary was plaguing the islands. He looked to his left, out his bedroom window. He could see Kairi's house, the lights on the first and second floors all on, including those in Kairi's room. The curtains were drawn, so Kairi must be changing. After all, he had accompanied her home just minutes ago, staying there until her father, the mayor, returned from a full day at the capital. Sora was glad—and he was certain Kairi was, as well—that despite being the mayor, Kairi's father was doing everything he could to return as early as possible each day to keep his daughter company. On several occasions, Sora offered to take on that role so Kairi's father could focus on legislative duties.

"I swore to myself I will protect my title as Destiny Islands' mayor only after I've done my job as a father," the lifelong politician once declared.

"Dad, it's _really_ okay," said Kairi, her tone genuine and sweet. "I appreciate everything you're doing. But I'm turning seventeen soon, y'know?"

"Seventeen or seven, I'll see you the same way!"

"Dad!"

"I'm only kidding, Kairi," said her father. He leaned in and gave Kairi a tight hug before turning to Sora. "But in all seriousness, you're both growing up way too fast."

"That's not too bad, right?" Sora chuckled.

"You have my approval, Sora. You've proven that already."

Sora's mind started to wander. Those words of praise were directed at him not too long ago. He had escorted Kairi back to her home one weekend evening and was surprised to see Kairi's father there earlier than usual. Circumstances during the last so-called Dark Crisis resulted in Kairi's father becoming a Heartless, relationships being strained, and…

"Well," Sora said out loud to himself and gathered his thoughts. _Anyway, everything turned out okay at the end._

An emulated telephone ring buzzed through Sora's speakers. He looked back to his computer monitor to see a notification pop out at the bottom of the screen. He unconsciously smiled, through muscle memory, as he clicked to answer the call. Unconsciously, he turned back to the window as the call's connection was made.

"Can you hear me?" the warm, familiar female voice came through. "I can definitely see you."

Sora waved a hand. As soon as he did, the curtains covering Kairi's bedroom windows were spread apart. There, the slender girl, her silky auburn hair still damp from a recent shower resting upon her slightly bared shoulders, returned Sora's greeting. The beautiful nightgown, in addition to the overall refreshed aura emanating from her gave off an unmistakable sense of royalty. A princess of heart, without a doubt. To the average onlooker, Kairi could very well be seen as a real princess straight out of classic fairy tales.

That is, if a massive headset—fully equipped with a coiled microphone and padded earphones—was not covering one side of her cheek and half her forehead.

"Looking good, Kairi," said Sora, as he put on his own headset, a significantly smaller and stylish variety. "By the way, I was thinkin' about getting you a matching set of these."

"Can you do that actually?" said Kairi, a hint of plea in her voice. "I don't think my dad has much of a fashion sense. Or technologically savvy."

The nightly conversation went on. Even though they could see each other through their respective windows, they felt just as close to each other when their faces were placed side-by-side via camera on their computer screens. Still, occasionally one of them would sneak a peek through the bedroom window; the glance would be promptly returned.

As the clock ticked by, eventually the talk would be interrupted by a call for dinner. Sora bid farewell first and clicked off the camera hooked to the top of his monitor. Stretching his arms out after half an hour of minimal movement, Sora noticed the news anchor still rambling on in a somewhat monotone voice. A relatively uneventful evening, it seemed like. Suddenly, Sora could smell his mother's cooking. He would love to invite Kairi over. However, his departure for dinner usually meant Kairi would start preparing her meal with her father. Sora figured it was best not to disrupt them.

"I'm heading down," Sora answered as his mother called again.

* * *

><p>Follow a trail that passed by the back of Sora's house, scale a low hill further down the road, and continue to walk alongside the same trail that merged with the main road, one would eventually link Sora and Kairi's homes together. Usually, it took Sora no more than five minutes to get to Kairi's if he walked casually. If he decided to run or sprint, though, he could make it in negligible time. Had there been Heartless swarms like in recent years, sprinting would have been the way to go. Nowadays, Sora remembered what it had been like in the past when he would simply walk to Kairi's front door, not sprint. They would go sneak over to their Secret Place out at the beach and hang out there for hours at a time. Of course, that routine barely changed as they would still take the journey there time to time. Kairi usually took the lead then, as she would rendezvous with Sora at his house and then continue together toward the beach.<p>

Kairi got up from her desk chair and proceeded out her room and down the spiraling staircase. In comparison, the house she lived in was significantly larger than most in the neighborhood—not by much, for the sake of reducing unwanted attention. She had her father to thank for that, though the place was a tad too large for just two people.

Downstairs, the stew that Kairi was working on continued to simmer above a low flame. If her father returned before the standard dinnertime of six or seven at night, the two of them would work on dinner preparations together. If it was getting late, Kairi would either eat at Sora's or fix dinner herself. Though it was most often the former, Kairi would nonetheless make something worthy of a meal, for two reasons: one, in case her father returned home and she already vacated the area; and two, to offer Sora's mother a token of gratitude for the hospitality.

Likewise, Sora's mother, who worked five days a week at a local children's pediatric center, would sometimes arrive home beyond dinnertime. In situations where neither Sora nor Kairi's parents were home on time, the two of them would let loose all reins and simply head out toward the metropolitan area of the islands. In many occasions, they would call out Riku to meet them if he was not on duty. But more often than not, Riku was either still on his shift or he had plans to travel elsewhere. Still, at the rarest of times, Riku would humor the young couple and join in on a late dinner in the city.

Tonight, though, Kairi insisted on preparing a massive pot of vegetable stew to go with her father's boring meat paste pasta. The mayor lived on pasta. If Kairi was not working on dinner, it was pasta on the menu. With the stew, at least they could save it for a few days and finish it whenever they wanted to.

"It's almost ready, Dad," said Kairi, bringing a small spoonful of her stew to her lips.

She flinched and grabbed the case of salt nearby.

"Hot."

She poured some salt into another spoon and mixed it into the pot. Taking in another sample of her work, Kairi smacked her lips twice before nodding to herself in approval. This particular stew was supposed to be an emulated version of her maternal grandmother's personal recipe. Although it has been years since Kairi last tasted her grandmother's stew—all the way back at Radiant Garden—the fragrance and taste came close enough to the one in her memories. Kairi momentarily closed her eyes, bidding her deceased grandmother a deserved peaceful rest.

_Now then, time for dinner,_ Kairi thought, easing the pot off the stove.


End file.
